I have an idea for a website I’d like to start, but I want to try my hand at making it database driven as it would seem the logical way to do it. But I’m new at this so, just to begin …
I can set up the database at home using Access, but it only saves them as .accdb files. Is there anyway to convert these to mySQL files?
Or … can PHP be used to access accdb files for use in this kind of site?
Both answers and advice are more than welcome.
You can set up MySQL on your home computer, for free. If you install PHP as well, you can also use an admin app/GUI like PHPMyAdmin or just use the admin GUI from MySQL.
If your ultimate goal is a PHP/MySQL solution, just start with that and stick with it.
You could also write the site in ASP.NET using Visual Studio.Net Express and use Access or MS SQL 2008 Express.
Don’t mix PHP/MySQL with Microsoft stuff. It’s not worth the headaches.
I don’t know what all is involved, but I have been told that for this purpose, the best thing to do, for someone who doesn’t have time to learn PHP programming or some other kind of programming, is use an existing content-management system like Drupal, Joomla! or Wordpress. Many hosting companies will have a facility for you to install a content management system at your site.
ETA: I haven’t looked into it myself yet, but I used to think that something like Wordpress was only useful for blogs. I was told at this board that my preconception is incorrect, and I have since found out that many people (including large companies) design whole websites using content management systems nowadays.
You can extract the data and load into mySQL fairly easily(but time consuming) if it is a one time thing. What do you mean by setup, do you mean data structures, schema, etc. or do you mean data and procedures too?
Seconding this. Converting databases from one type to another is a pain.
Well, I’m kinda new at this; the databse stuff, not the building the website stuff. I’m not sure if my end goal is a php/mySQL setup … what are the major differences between that and a Microsoft ASP.Net setup? Is one better than the other? Preferred?
If you want advice, give us more to work with. Will the database just store static info? Will the users post information into the database? etc.
No … I will be the only one working the database. Online users will access the information but will not be able to add to or edit it. I will be adding more entries as I roll along, but it will be just me.
I deal exclusively with ASP.NET but I don’t think PHP is any better or worse. Especially if you’re just starting out with one language or the other. If you get good at .NET then you can do awesome stuff with .NET. If you get good at PHP you can do awesome stuff with PHP.
There is probably more free PHP code floating around but there is also a ton of free .NET code. It’s catching up. Most of the free “full site source” packages like WordPress are written in PHP. But there’s also stuff like DotNetNuke.
Linux/PHP/MySQL server space tends to be cheaper than .NET hosting…or rather, just more ubiquitous. Places like 1and1.com, which are huge hosting places, offer either for the same price. But you are more likely to run into “some dude who will give you free space” who runs a Linux server.
A word of caution about setting up a complete site based on WordPress as a CMS…yes, it’s totally free and totally supported and kicks ass. But it takes just as much time to de-construct code to make it look/do what you want as it does to write it from scratch if you don’t know what you’re doing. People who can make beautiful unique sites from a WordPress base can read PHP like it’s plain English. It’s like the difference between buying property with a camper on it and trying to turn it into a hotel, or just building a dang hotel on an empty piece of land. Can be much more trouble than it’s worth.
I found the most difficult thing is to visualize what you want in your database. It’s a real pain to go back and add whole new categories. It’s certainly possible, but I have done many sites where it’s just so much easier to start over from scratched, because the people just jumped into it without any real idea of where they were going.
Go to Dynamic Drive Forums and ask around there. This is a great place and they are very helpful
Are you sure this is the only format it can save out to? Save as CSV from Access - Microsoft IIS Web Server and ASP.NET forum at WebmasterWorld - WebmasterWorld
Try saving to tab-delimited (*.tab), this will probably be the most widely supported format for importing into other databases. CSV would be the second most.
I missed this part, but I’m pretty sure that from Access you can set up an ODBC connection to another database and transfer the data that way.
ETA: first google hit shows this tutorial Information Services Division | Information Services Division - UCL – University College London
With a whole number of third parties plugins, it is possible to use WordPress for a corporate site or a mini-content management system. I prefer it over Joomla because it is easier to set-up, plugins are easier to write and the admin backend is more accessible. However, as other posters have pointed out - to put in custom features you had to be a good coder, and the official boards usually don’t answer much support questions.
As for the OP’s ideas, if you are using Access, ASP.NET could use it with no problem. However, if you intend to use PHP, MySQL is the standard way to go (and if you could grok Access, MySQL is not a problem)
My initial thought is to export the data from Access as CSV and try to import them into a MySQL database via PHPMyAdmin, or by writing your own PHP-based converter.
Most web-host would have online MySQL database for you. You could get an ASP based server and just put the access file online. A client of mine did that; but it could be painful to backup when that file become 100MB and larger and the only way to download a copy is through FTP…(PHPMyAdmin could backup databases and compressed it at the same time).
Instead of writing a converter, wouldn’t it make sense to use a built in utility (I’ve only used them in other DB’s, I assume MySQL has one?).
Edit: I just noticed you mentioned PHPMyAdmin, skipped past that when I first read it.
My thought goes back to my previous post: use an ODBC connection from Access to MySQL. Especially since Eutychus is already familiar with Access.